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As the beginning of a new year approaches, many of us are looking to improve ourselves over the upcoming year. Some of us want to eat better and lose some inches, others want to improve our social lives and connect more with family. What about helping improve our planet and reduce the impact we have on it? There are ways that we can make a difference for the animals we care about, such as tigers, from the comfort of our home. Here are a few ways you can help conserve our planet in the new year.

1)Cut out the palm oil, or at least reduce the usagePalm oil is arguably the most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet. You may not pull out a jar of palm oil every time you want to sauté some vegetables, but it is an ingredient in about half of all pre-packaged products on the store shelves. Palm oil is also in the make-up, hygiene products, and cleaning supplies many of us use on a daily basis. So, great, palm oil is in a lot of products. Why should you care about palm oil and what products it is used in?Palm oil grows in the rainforest. If it is grown and harvested sustainably, it does not have a huge negative impact on the surrounding habitat. More often than not, unfortunately, the palm oil is harvested in an uncontrolled manner. Rainforests are cut down, burned, and destroyed in order to keep up with the demand of palm oil. Thanks to the palm oil industry, rainforest dwelling animals are disappearing faster than ever. The palm oil industry holds a major responsibility for the rapid disappearance of gibbons in the wild, more so than any other influence.

Above is a quick, easy reference for chocolates.An easy way to make sure the products you are buying are sustainable, or using sustainable palm oil, is to use an app that was created by Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The app is available for Apple and Android. To use the app just scan the barcode of the item you are interested in buying and the app will let you know if it has palm oil in it, and if it is from a sustainable source. This became a life saver for me. You can also look at the ingredients listed on the side of the item, but palm oil is not always listed as palm oil. It can be listed as: Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fat, Palm Kernel, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Fruit Oil, Palmate, Palmitate, Palmolein, Glyceryl, Stearate, Stearic Acid, Elaeis Guineensis, Palmitic Acid, Palm Stearine, Palmitoyl Oxostearamide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Kernelate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Lauryl Lactylate/Sulphate, Hyrated Palm Glycerides, Etyl Palmitate, Octyl Palmitate, or Palmityl Alcohol. Once you start paying attention to palm oil you will see it everywhere. Did you know the second ingredient in Nutella is palm oil? Don’t worry – they use a sustainable source. A quick and easy way to see if a product uses sustainable palm oil is to look for the RSPO sustainable palm oil symbol. Below are two examples of the logo to watch for.

2)Enjoy wildlife when you travel, but be conscious!When we travel we want to experience every possible thing that the area has to offer. When animal encounters are what that area has to offer, it can be very tempting. For example, there is a business in Thailand that allows you to take a photo with a tiger. This facility was shut down this past year, but was immediately allowed to reopen at a new location. The animals at this facility are poked, drugged, and abused in order for a photo to be taken, and often have mysterious deaths. Due to lax laws, record keeping is near non-existent and places such as this are allowed to exist. So, if you see a wildlife encounter experience, I would recommend doing a lot of research into where you are planning on visiting. Animal interaction doesn’t automatically make it bad, just make sure you are giving your money and time to an organization who is helping conservation, not hurting it.Lastly, if you go to a region that offers safaris you should definitely go on one! There is no cooler place to see an animal than in its natural habitat. When you post about your event on social media just don’t geotag your photo’s location. Poachers don’t just track their prey on land anymore, they also use social media and tourists to show them to some new areas. For more information, here is a link to a great PetaPixel article over the subject.So please visit these beautiful animals in their natural habitat, but be conscious of what you post!

3)Reduce use of single use productsWe all know we need to reduce, reuse, and recycle. One of the biggest ways you can reduce your usage is to kick the single use products to the curb. Single use products are just what they sound like, things you only use once. Examples are straws, plastic silverware, paper plates, plastic grocery bags, Keurig k-cups, the bags you put your produce in at the grocery store, and any other item you use just once. It’s easy to turn down a straw when dining out, but if you are like me you still want a straw. A metal straw is a great reusable solution. Switching away from single-use products can also save a lot ofmoney. We use our Keurig a lot in our home, but investing in a reusable cup has been great all around. We don’t have the bulky cups taking up room in the cabinet anymore, we don’t take the trash out as often, and we are saving money on groceries. What an all-around win! I have attached some links below to some affordable reusable replacements for single use products.Stainless steel straws – HereReusable produce bags- HereReusable k-cups- Here Travel Utensils- Here ORHereIf you are like me and sometimes forget your reusable bags at home, a great option is a plastic bag recycling program. If I forget my reusable bags when I go to Walmart, I will be sure to keep my plastic bags together and bring them to the store with me next time I come back. Walmart has a big box at the entrance of every store where you can put your plastic bags for recycling. ​

You Don’t Have To Change Everything At OnceAs a new year begins, don’t feel obligated to change everything at once. Make the positive changes you can as you can. I first cut out unsustainable palm oil, the next month I switched to a metal straw, and then the next I started using reusable produce bags. If you can make all these changes at once, go for it! Just don’t overwhelm yourself if it’s too much to do at once. Whatever your resolutions are this year, go get ‘em tiger.